Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a condition in which fatty material collects along the walls of arteries, forming a plaque. The plaque thickens and hardens over time, eventually blocking blood flow. Once thought of as a lipid storage disease, atherosclerosis is now also recognized as a chronic inflammatory condition that increases risk of coronary and cerebrovascular disease. Atherosclerotic plaques include macrophages, which release inflammatory cytokines into the surrounding area. The inflammatory processes that mediate atherosclerosis occur in disease states such as obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. Typical complications from this progressive disease include plaque rupture, which can cause clot formation. If the blood vessel is fully blocked, the plaque rupture can cause a stroke or heart attack. Analyzing the expression, regulation, and sequence of atherosclerotic genes can help determine their relative importance to the biology of the cellular or disease processes under study and further explore the their roles in cell biology. ...

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Atherosclerosis is a condition in which fatty material collects along the walls of arteries, forming a plaque. The plaque thickens and hardens over time, eventually blocking blood flow. Once thought of as a lipid storage disease, atherosclerosis is now also recognized as a chronic inflammatory condition that increases risk of coronary and cerebrovascular disease. Atherosclerotic plaques include macrophages, which release inflammatory cytokines into the surrounding area. The inflammatory processes that mediate atherosclerosis occur in disease states such as obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. Typical complications from this progressive disease include plaque rupture, which can cause clot formation. If the blood vessel is fully blocked, the plaque rupture can cause a stroke or heart attack. Analyzing the expression, regulation, and sequence of atherosclerotic genes can help determine their relative importance to the biology of the cellular or disease processes under study and further explore the their roles in cell biology.